Morning Bell: Obama’s Other Broken Health Care Promises

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) emerged from a closed-door meeting with top House Democratic leaders yesterday, the press asked her about C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb’s request that she permit cameras to televise the final health care negotiations between the House and Senate. After Pelosi first demurred, a reporter reminded Pelosi about President Barack Obama’s frequent promises to the American people throughout 2008 that he would ensure C-SPAN was allowed to televise exactly such negotiations, to which Speaker Pelosi quipped: “There are a number of things he was for on the campaign trail.”

Speaker Pelosi is right: President Obama’s broken health care promises are legendary. According to reports, Speaker Pelosi wasn’t even referring to Obama’s whopper from last month that he never campaigned on the public option. No, Speaker Pelosi is apparently most upset with Obama’s support for the Senate’s tax on high cost health plans, which she believes is a violation of Obama’s promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. But really, President Obama’s current health care plan breaks so many of his previous health care promises, there is no need for Pelosi to have to name just one. Here are just some of the other major promises President Barack Obama has broken:

Individual Mandate: There were not a lot of actual policy fights in the 2008 Democratic Presidential primary, but one of the few major policy disagreements between then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) was over the individual mandate. Clinton was for it and Obama was against it. On January 31, 2008, Obama made the case against mandates in a Los Angeles, CA, debate: “Now, under any mandate, you are going to have problems with people who don’t end up having health coverage. I think we can anticipate that there would also be people potentially who are not covered and are actually hurt if they have a mandate imposed on them.” Both the House and Senate bills now contain an individual mandate. According to the President’s own Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, under the Senate plan, 19 million Americans would pay $29 billion in taxes/fines and still receive no health care in return.

You Will Not Lose Your Doctor: On June 15, 2009, President Obama promised the American people: “No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people. If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” Again, the President’s own Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirms that the current Senate health bill breaks this promise. Seventeen million Americans will be forced out of their existing health insurance. Worse, the CMS explains that continued Medicare cuts will encourage more doctors to stop seeing Medicare patients entirely, and the 18 million people added to Medicaid will also make it next to impossible for those already on Medicaid to find a doctor who will treat them.

No Tax Hikes for People Making Less than $250,000: On February 24, 2009, President Barack Obama promised the American people: “if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.” Speaker Pelosi believes the Senate bill’s excise tax on insurance plans breaks this promise, and she is right. But it is not the only way that Obamacare shatters the President’s no-middle-class-tax-hike pledge. There are a slew of new taxes in the Senate bill, many of which will hit the middle class, including taxes on medical devices, tanning beds, insurance user fees, and brand name drugs (not to mention the individual mandate which is enforced by a tax or the employer mandate which kills jobs and punishes the poor).

Your Health Premiums Will Be $2,500 Lower: On October 15, 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) promised the American people: “The only thing we’re going to try to do is lower costs so that those cost savings are passed onto you. And we estimate we can cut the average family’s premium by about $2,500 per year.” According to the Congressional Budget Office, Americans in large-group employer-sponsored plans would, on average, see their premiums remain flat, while individuals who purchase insurance in the non-group market would see much higher premiums in 2016 under Obamacare than they would under current law. And many believe those estimates are optimistic. According to the Lewin Group, once fully implemented, health care spending per worker will increase for all employers who do not currently offer coverage — $316 per worker under the Senate bill and $800 increase per worker under the House bill.

Tax Payer Funded Abortion: On September 10, 2009, President Barack Obama promised the American people: “No federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.” While the House bill’s Stupak amendment language fulfills this promise, the Senate’s Nelson compromise does not. If the Senate language were to become law, it would overturn the precedent set by the Hyde Amendment, the FEHBP (Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan), Military insurance through TRICARE, and the Indian Health Service. Your taxdollars most definitely would be paying for elective abortions.

No one expects a President to fulfill 100% of his promises. But when the failures to live up to your past pledges pile so high, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the American people have turned so strongly against President Obama’s health care plan.

Who was the South Carolina Congressman who told the President "you lie"?

He spoke truthfully and was ostracized by his peers and the press.

Seems your staff at the Heritage Foundation has proven the congressman's declaration to be honest.

People like President Obama, Congressman Pelosi and Senator Reid are little more than caricatures of sleezy, obfuscating politicians. Had I voted for either of them, I would be nauseated that I had mis-managed my vote.

Some already see the writing on the wall and are starting to abandon their party and rightfully so. If they have servered more than 2 terms, Out they Go. Let the beginning of Voter Mandated Term Limits begin. Lets get some fresh blood and ideas to get our country back on track. The Status Quo regardless of what OB says is still the same.

The obvious lack of a true committment to our constitution, to our culture, and to the American people has forced us to re-examine the ferocity of courage that it will take to save America. An old adage now has new meaning…"When Obama lies, America dies."

These are not scare tactics. These are from the words of the President that he knew in 2009 that he could not keep. I think that al politicians on both sides of the aisle should be voted out of office and we start over with what the founding fathers had envisioned.

All this from a guy who begins every speach with the words "let me be clear". I don't know if it's due to our penchant of always having to be politically correct, but today if you tell lies, you are simply referred to as a campaigner and it's no big deal. Back in the day day, if you made promises that you didn't keep, you were branded a liar and your word wasn't to be trusted.

Of all the promises candidate Obama made during his campaign, the only one he is actually trying to keep is the one he made to 'Joe the Plumber', about wanting to spread the wealth.

The litany of broken promises made above doesn't include the promise to post proposed legislation on the internet for five days before acting on it. It doesn't include his promise to use line item veto authority to cut 'earmarks' out of proposed legislation. Both of these promises were broken with the very first piece of legislation he signed (without reading), the Stimulus bill, which cost the taxpayers $800 billion and didn't reduce unemployment. If fact, unemployment increased to over 10% nationwide and as much as 15% to 18% in certain areas of the country.

Remember his campaign promise to keep lobbyists out of his administration? The first three he brought in were exceptions to his own promise.

Remember his promise of having the most transparent administration ever? Remember how the health care debate was going to be held on C-SPAN, with doctors, nurses, representatives of the hospital industry, the pharmaceutical industry and of Congress that would debate the issues at a big round table so the American public could see who was truly representing their interests?

Well, what has the reality been? Nancy Pelosi strong-arming the House into their version of 'health care reform', rejecting every Republican counter-proposal and amendment. Harry Reid, bought and paid for every one of the 60 necessary Senate votes with the tax dollars of the American public, all done behind closed doors with no input from any Republican Senators. It cannot come as much of a surprise that these Senators who sold themselves to Harry Reid didn't want their transactions made public. Such transactions are best made in darkened alleys, with a smile and a wink.

Are we to believe that Mr. Obama has no control over making the House and Senate debates over health care reform public, as promised?

Mr. Obama's promises are reminisent of an old TV commercial for women's colonge, "Promise her anything, but give her Arpege". Mr. Obama has promised the American public quite a bit, but what he has given us smells like something quite different.

Ken Jarvis, WHAT? "scare tactics? "Place for discussion"? You mean scare tactics like the Dems lies about the cost and effect to their health care plans? Decussion like the Dems deciding the furture of this nation behind closed doors? Decussions like the Dems shutting out and input from any Republican? Do you not understand that Obama and the Dems have absolutely no desire for any "decussions" that does not agree with their socialist views and do nothing but "scare" the people of this country into accepting the loss of our rights and freedoms? Is that "ANY WAY" you want.

To Ken, in Las Vegas — Neither I, nor the majority of other Americans who oppose the House and Senate versions of 'health care reform' are frightened by the reports we read in Heritage. We turn to Heritage because it is one of the few places that we can find detailed information about what's happening in the House and Senate.

You ask for a place for discussion. I believe that a great place for discussion and debate over health care reform would have been on C-SPAN, with all of the doctors, nurses, Medicare and Medicaid actuaries, hospital administrators, pharmaceutical companies and Congressional representatives (including those from the budget office) that Mr. Obama promised.

Your from Nevada. Harry Reid is your Senator. Why not ask him why the "debates" are televised, why they don't include any Republicans, or any other of the knowledgeable people mentioned above?

There are very few here that want to discuss anything other than HF viewpoints. I very much appreciate them even allowing you to continue to attend or participate. This is a support group and you are not akin to supporting most of the participants. You may or may not have voted for Reid. It was a majority of voters who voted him in.

Thank Goodness we don't allow any one entity to be judge jury and executioner

Please continue to write your opinions or facts for they are no less important than any of the others printed here. People who attack you or the system are the ones for the public to be wary of. Hypothetically or realistically if things were so great (pick any number of years) what brought about public perception to change that?

The answer is to improve the system. I know enough not to try to convince anyone here of anything they don't want to believe or is askew of their views.

George Bush's favorable or unfavorable rating according to Mr Carol's poll site was very low. Low enough to enact change. I would almost allow that at that point we see the wisdom in a vote of no confidence. That has not come at this point but should the figures decline I would understand a new need for change or "improvement" hopefully in the election year.

As the rumor filled and not always so pleasant Sean Hannity has said on occasion….."You are a great American" and "let not your heart be troubled".

Someone much greater (who died serving our country) said You cannot fool all of the people all of the time and no matter how you twist that quote It stands the test of time. The system is flawed but it's what we have to work with and it's worth cooperating to improve.

Has anyone here read Free Lunch? We would have a lot to talk about here!

Thank you whoever posted the Cloward-Piven strategy several weeks ago and thank you Glen Beck for bringing this to the publics attention. The images of Cloward and Piven with President Clinton were compelling.

Ken – it is the end game we are concerned about. The track record for the good intentions of Congress is abysmal beginning with the New Deal. The much maligned Calvin Coolidge was responsible for the Roaring Twenties with his supply side economic policies. Greed and other factors resulted in the Crash and Depression. How about we revisit his policies and learn from the mistakes of the past and not reinvent the wheel with each administration. It was WWII that got us out of the Depression – not The New Deal.

Since when is pointing out the truth and discrepancies while reconciling the campaign promises with reality a scare tactic? If you're afraid, it is through no fault of the Heritage Foundation. It is because the Democratic leadership, from the White House to the Congress, is systematically taking away our American liberties and freedom.

Since when is pointing out the truth and discrepancies while reconciling the campaign promises with reality a scare tactic? If you’re afraid, it is through no fault of the Heritage Foundation. It is because the Democratic leadership, from the White House to the Congress, is systematically taking away our American liberties and freedom.

the people lose freedom,and the pursuit of happiness goes down the drain.pelosi thinks its ok to lie on the campain trail.so she is saying that a lie to the people is alright.i hope the people remember she is a liar and its ok.vote her out of the government so that all the lies go with her.

Why are the American people standing back and allowing the trampling of our constitution? Why are the President and the democrats allowed to hide in the dark and fashion a bill a majority of Americans do not want and will suffer under? Why are they so devious when they are even now working on passing another anti American bill, allowing illegals citizenship and the great bill to allow all Americans to vote without registering? What is happening to our country that our servants are throwing garbage at us and insisting we want it when our voices are raised against all of it? We need these people gone and constitutional Americans to take their place and undo the damage they have thrust upon us before it is too late!

none of my previous posts have gone thru but neither has anyone but Ken Jarvis commented.

checking to see if I have been censored or there is a problem.

Ken

The answer is an emphatic no. No way….that would be contrary to a support group process. Wave your flag and express your thoughts.

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels – men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.

I despise people who go to the gutter on either the right or the left and hurl rocks at those in the center. – DDEisenhower

I'll bet Ken Jarvis is a Harry "We've lost the war" Ried supporter and fan. That aside, as one who enjoys reading the usually intelligent debate supported by facts on these and other pages. I think it would be great if Ken J. could provide some of either, intelligent debate or facts to the contrary of HF's supposed spin. Otherwise I see him as nothing more than wasted space and oxygen certainly not worth responding to any further.

Christmas came early this year, 2010. Chris Dodd, Bryon Dorgan and Governor Ritter of CO all announced today they will not seek reelection. Still look at the damage these incompetent and sleazy democrats have done to our nation. Yes, Ken Jarvis, there is a Santa Claus and Rudolf is none other than HF, leading the way for truth and honest facts for the American people. The Obama administration is a one term failed Presidency and small minded socialists like you have little or no ability to cogitate truth nor understand and appreciate the meaning of political, social and economic freedoms. It is only in a free society that miss guided and below average thinkers such as yourself can get noticed. We do however welcome your continued comments; as they say “ you just cannot make this stuff up!”

In the Past 8 to 10 months I've heard figures of $ I only thought were something to get stupied about ! 1 Trillion Dollars, in 2010, and 18 Trillion in 2014. This is only to show just how stupied Our Government has become over Greed! Why not concentrate on This Year and maybe the Next one or two future years ? If we as Americans can't Solve the Problems that are Current, There Won't be any other years we have to Estimate! There will not be an America as we've known in the Past 233 years.There Will Not Be Any America to count the Trillions of Dollars in The Future !!!

At 68 years of age I have come to expect all politicians to make promises they never intend to fulfill. It is how they get elected! I have also learned by experience that the majority of politicians believe that "TRUTH" is defined as being "what they want you to hear and believe." I am glad that the LORD GOD, YEHWEH can be fully trusted to fulfill all the promises of HIS WORD. HE has never failed and never will!

Dictatorship, Communism and betrayl are hanging over our Country today. This is just like Cuba with Castro. Americans must unite, speak out and throw these traitors out of office. No, Nasty Play Loosely, there is no transparency or bipartisanship in your camp!

[…] in Health Care with 0 comments One of the key issues the White House, House, and Senate will be negotiating behind closed doors, is how to pay for President Obama’s $2.5 trillion plan. Reconciling the differences between […]

Ms Pelosi, with her comment "there's a lot he (referring to Obama) was for on the campaign trail), exibited the epitome of the smart-alec arrogance that has infested Washington D.C. today. Her demeanor was also a prime example of why these politicians do not respect, like or listen to the American people.

She was, presumably, trying to be cute.

Ms. Pelosi, you failed miserably at being cute, but managed, instead, to let all of America see just how despicable you and your pals in Congress really are.

The mid-term elections are only 10 months away. The leadership of both the Senate and The House will change. Count on it.

Sadly this President's legacy will be a long list of broken promises. He promised no increase in taxes for the middle class and with this Health Care debacle being shoved unabated through the Congress, we in the middle class will suffer the most. Also, the taxes will hit the small business owners which are the engine of this country. I am afraid that we are in for double digit inflation for as far as the eye can see!

Barack Obama made the promise to overhaul health care but he can't do it alone. No president can. It's up to the Senate and the House to fulfill this promise and that they are NOT doing.

They are so interested in 'SELF', power, greed, the "what's in it for me and my buddies" that they no longer care to serve the American People as they were elected to do. I say vote all of them out of office and let them know the American people will speak and speak loudly when they know they are being "played". Force them to set term limits without benefit of excessive retirement pay for (pay into Social Security and draw from it like the rest of us). And stop blaming the President for what they do.

People need to think of the handicap and seniors before anyone else. We get cut to starvation! You talk about people with an income under $250,000; think about the people with a monthly imcome of $800 and what you are doing to them!

We can not believe anything the dems and obama say, his campaign was a total false hood. He only needed to convince 30% of the people that waht he said was the truth. It has now come down to power and controll, if I have the power I have controll.The dems are quick to tell we won, it will be our way or the highway.

I fought for this country in an unpopular war, for the right to live life to its fullest, for freedom,to speak my mind, own guns, and preserve a way of life for my children and grandchrildren. The dems and obama are intent on destroying that way of life. The constitution means nothing, debt means nothing, a free society means nothing, and we the people have let it become this way. For years people did not vote, they did not voice their opinions and the members of congress built empires. They stoped working for and believing that our Government was designed to be "for the people, by the people, and of the people". It is past time to vote congress and obama out and hire a new bunch, have term limits on all and let them know the "people " do count. VOTE IN 2010.

The Health bill as it stands, is nconstitutional. The Declaration of Independence states, "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the goverened,-That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government". Any promishes made by the Obama administration mean nothing. When our country and its people are facing such hardships, this most certainly is not the time for our representatives to be voting themselves heffy wage increases. Dump the health bill and dump our representatives and those Obama put into offices w/their huge salaries. Agree, we need to do something about the health system, but going behind close doors is not the answer.

[…] lack of transparency. For those of you that do need some health care broken promises to pass on, here are a few. Maybe I will tackle that tomorrow. Today I will instead be lazy and just leave you with 5 […]

I don't know about anyone else who contributes comments to this space, but I got a kick out of the comments from the two 'Kens". I, like many who correspond here, most times feel like I'm preaching to the choir.

I am a conservative. I didn't vote for Obama because I believed him to be a liberal. His race had nothing to do with my decision to vote for McCain/Palin. I didn't especially care for Senator McCain because of his stand on campaign reform, as outlined in the McCain/Fiengold legislation. Being from Illinois, I was familiar with Mr. Obama's voting record in the IL legislature. I was familiar with his sponsors were in the Daley administration in Chicago, Chicago election politics and with his sponsor, Emil Jones, the then President of the IL Senate.

The Heritage Foundation is a conservative 'think tank' and as such, and to some degree can be called a support group for the Republican party. But there is a bit of a problem with identifying Heritage as such. The problem, as I see it, is that too many politicians calling themselves Republican have abandoned the conservative principals on which the party allegedly was founded. Those are not the politicians that Heritage supports.

I believe that the majority of Americans don't necesarily believe all of what the Democrats preach, nor all of what the Republicans preach, (I certainly don't) but rather believe, in varying degrees, some of what both parties preach.

I am never going to be able to convince liberals that conservatism is better than liberalism, just as liberals won't ever be able to win me ovwer to their point of view. While I may disagree strongly and loudly with those of different political points of view, I don't hate them. Just as it will do me no good to complain about the policies of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, It will do liberals no good to complain about George Bush. These guys are out of the picture. It doesn't any of us any good to dump on them.

A lively debate over different points of view is a good thing. We may never win each other over to our point of view, but that doesn't mean we should stop talking. I know it's hard to keep sarcasim out of our comments when debating. Sometimes it can be funny and sometimes quite hurtful. Those of us who correspond here need to be mindful of that.

Just wanted to let all of you know that Ken Jarvis… I'm sure you have already figured this out from his rants on this post. He is regularly served up as the village fool on the Heritage Foundation page on Facebook where we are familiar with the cut and paste "style" of discussion. Press him on any of his views and he is unable to discuss or debate even the simplest philosophical or policy issues. You will get tied up in the ultimate tar baby of circular logic and eventually give up in exhaustion. Ken has admitted that this is what he is trying to do and he gets a laugh out of our attempts to argue with him. He is not arguing, he is just throwing bombs.

Ken is angry at Heritage Foundation and Conservatives in general because he was unceremoniously thrown out of the Republican Party in Las Vegas. Ken ran for office twice as a Republican and was dumped twice by the voters. The local press continually called him eccentric which was a nice way of describing him as Moon Bat Crazy. Google Ken Jarvis Republican Las Vegas and you will get a good picture of what you are dealing with. If you know anyone living in Vegas over the past 10 years, ask them about him. His race was considered funny and people even supported him just because they thought he would be crazy enough to give them entertainment in local politics with his antics. He was the local joke.

On HP Facebook Ken has lied, posed as another person to reinforce his point (makes me think the two Kens could be one Ken – he isn't very creative) and simply cuts and pastes from Huffington Post and Liberal bumper stickers.

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